The Torah is a commentary on the world, and the world is a commentary on the Torah.

—This motto reflects our determination to apply Jewish thought to some of the greatest challenges of our time – and our belief that the act of doing so is good not only for the world, but also for the renewal of Jewish life itself.

Our programs directly touch lives in powerful ways.

Hazon’s Transformative Experiences are immersive-intensive-inclusive multi-day retreats, bike rides, holidays, adventures, workshops, conferences, festivals, and vacations. Transformative Experiences encourage people to make a difference in the world, and in the process enable them to renew and reframe their own Jewish journeys. Individuals, families, and communities make a journey to experience a Judaism that connects with their passions – and they return home transformed: refreshed, inspired, and with a renewed sense of purpose and possibility for a sustainable future in the Jewish community and beyond.

2014 Highlights

Retreats at Isabella Freedman on all of the Jewish holidays, plus silent meditation retreats, Blues For Challah, LGBT programming and others. One special highlight in 2014 – our first-ever Purim Retreat, led by Roseanne Barr

Writing, speaking, teaching, and advocacy.

We provide thought-leadership to the Jewish community and beyond through our writing, speaking, teaching and advocacy. Our collection of curricula, source books, and other resources are an accessible doorway to explore the connections between Jewish tradition and contemporary issues. Anyone can benefit from these resources. They can be used by individuals, formal and informal educators, Rabbis, and lay leaders in synagogues, JCCs, day schools, camps, or just around the dinner table with family and friends.

Thought-leadership is central to our work of creating a healthier and more sustainable Jewish community and healthier and more sustainable world for everyone, catalyzing the New Jewish Food Movement, and building intellectual bridges between Jewish tradition and key contemporary issues.

Jewish Outdoor, Food & Environmental Education (JOFEE): The JOFEE Report – out in ea
rly 2014 – is intended to foster a conversation about how we strengthen Jewish life, and create a more sustainable world for all, by developing the JOFEE field in the next decade and beyond

Supporting great people and projects in North America and Israel.

Capacity-building means seeking to effect change not just by impacting individuals as individuals, but also by seeking to strengthen organizations, create and develop networks and hubs, and foster leadership development. Capacity-building includes catalyzing and supporting the Jewish Food Movement. And increasingly, in the next few

Capacity-building includes

Publishing the JOFEE Report and developing a JOFEE Network – seeking to recruit, train, network, support, and help deploy a growing number of people who are interested in working in the JOFEE field, in multiple ways, as well as supporting and networking alumni of Adamah, Teva, Urban Adamah and other immersive JOFEE programs

Supporting rabbis, educators, Jewish leaders, and Jewish institutions around the country, especially in Boulder, Denver, New York, Philadelphia, San Diego, and San Francisco.

Helping to develop the Siach Network, and convening a series of gatherings bringing together leaders from the environmental and social justice worlds in Israel, Europe and North America

Raising money for other organizations, including over $2m we’ve helped to raise for the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, and $600,000 through the New York and Golden Gate Rides that have supported over 70 projects.

Hazon is one of the largest American funders of the Israeli environmental movement. Our outdoor events support some of the most vital work happening on environmental issues in Israel. The Israel Ride has raised over $1.5 million for the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies. It also enables participants to learn first hand about some of the key issues Israel faces, and some of the ways that environmentalists are helping to create peace.

Hazon CSA is the first Jewish Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) program in North America and is currently the largest faith-based CSA program in the country. In 2010, more than 50 Hazon CSAs put over $1 million in Jewish family purchasing power behind local, sustainable farms. Hazon CSA sites include JCCs, synagogues, Jewish day schools, and Hillels – and we’d love to add your community to the list. Contact csa@hazon.org to apply.